What was Monica thinking? Peter A. Hempel   I noticed the other day a tabloid story that Monica Lewinsky was seeking help for her sex addiction problems.  She was checking out the 12-step sex addiction programs, but felt, not unreasonably, that she wouldn’t actually have much hope of confidentiality there.   In the meantime, however, she has been moving forward.  She has thrown all her thongs, peek-a-boo bras, split-crotch panties, etc. into the garbage, and is shifting to conservative...

Europe’s “far right” is not America’s far right Infidels have rights, too Peter A. Hempel – 11/04/25 There is a lot of alarm these days about how Trump and Trumpism are part of global rise of the “far right,” particularly in Europe. But I’m wondering if we are missing some fundamental differences between the US and Europe. Trumpism is economically far right, bankrolled by dark money billionaires and the Heritage Foundation, culminating in Project 2025 – at least for now. Its goals are to cut...

Why the Democrats suck on crime Peter A. Hempel 08/28/25 Republicans have been leveraging “out of control” crime as a campaign issue at least since the days of Nixon. “Law and order” has always been cynical on their part; even as they call loudly for draconian law enforcement in the streets, they continually protect (and enable) the criminals at the top – and within their own ranks. Democrats have responded by digging themselves into a deep hole on the crime issue. In part, because Blacks and...